Imagine if you could set up an entire file server in two steps, on any device. Just download a 1Mb file, and then run it.
I know folks have mentioned it here before, but I've been running CopyParty for a month or so, and I'm extremely impressed. After setting up multiple Docker services on my home server, I almost couldn't believe how simple this was to set up and use. I had to install Python, but after that, it's just two steps. Download the file, and then run it.
It's not exactly the prettiest interface in the world, but it will turn any device that can run Python into a complete file server. The web interface will run on basically any device you can think of. It's not fancy, but it's pretty intuitive once you learn how to use it, and extremely responsive.
I've seen some discussion recently about different file servers and file syncing like Syncthing, NextCloud, etc. I'm not sure if many people know about CopyParty and use it.
It has a lot of customizable features, and can operate on all sorts of configurations. I have it set up as a remote drive on my phone and office computer. I use the web interface to preview audio files and text files. I use it to manage downloads into the designated folders I need to put them in.
It is at least as fast as any other upload or download service I've used on my home server. Usually it's even faster. It can quickly search files, including the contents of files, and automatically detect duplicates.
If I knew self-hosting could be this easy, I probably would have started even sooner. I might have even started testing on an unused cell phone I have lying around.
There are a couple gaps that have prevented me from diving all in. There's no file versioning built in. So if a file is corrupted or overridden by mistake, it can't be rolled back using copyparty. There are no dedicated apps, so things like built-in file search and indexing depend on the capabilities of the OS (you can always access the indexed search through the web interface, but that's not always the most convenient). Some of the features, like the blazing fast upload, are only available through the browser.
Like any software, it's not perfect, but it is extremely impressive and very good at what it does. Which is a lot.
Isn’t HFS still a thing people use? Literally one file, no need for python, no install, just run it and you’ve got an http interface available on your local network to upload/download files to.
hfs v2 (the old banger of an exe) is no longer being maintained and has some known unfixed vulnerabilities, however there is now a rewrite (hfs v3) which is shaping up really nicely.
should also mention that copyparty is also available as a windows exe which will run without python or any other dependencies
I never heard of this before, but it looks similarly easy to deploy. It requires Javascript instead of Python, which is the same to me although I'm sure others will have a strong preference for one or the other. Pretty nice interface though.